He also suffered a broken arm and burns to his face after he held the firework on Sunday evening.

He is still in hospital having treatment and police are telling parents to warn their children about the dangers of fireworks.

A police spokesperson said: "This little lad has some horrific injuries all of which could have been avoided by not playing with fireworks."

He added: "We and our medical colleagues sincerely hope we do not see a repeat of this tragic incident and urge parents to drive home fireworks safety messages.